Connections and Conversation is a free monthly Zoom meeting, cultivating creativity and freedom of thought and feeling. We invite you to engage with our presenters and community as they share their interests and passions in conversation on current topics in psychoanalysis.

This free event that alternates times. The meeting often begins with a 45 minute presentation followed by 45 minutes of conversation. When an event is recorded you can access the recording at the vault.

This series is open to all.

In case of questions please contact: [email protected]

Both participants in the supervision relationship are personally and professionally vulnerable. Thus the power is bidirectional, just as it is in therapy. Each participant has power,  although the particular forms of power may be different and the distribution of power may be asymmetrical.  But no one is immune from narcissistic vulnerability, including the supervisor. Supervisors want to have the experience of being liked, respected, viewed as helpful, for instance. How do these desires get managed in difficult supervision processes?

Also, themes of power and of vulnerability operate in different ways depending on the situation in which the supervisory relationship occurs. Are there racial or ethnic differences between the supervisor, supervisee, and/or the patient? Is the  supervisee being evaluated in a formal manner by the supervisor? Is the supervisor being evaluated by the work setting in which the supervision takes place? Does the supervisee evaluate the supervisor in a formal or informal manner?  How do the parties in the supervision relationship navigate the question of what kind of supervision best serves the supervisee and the patient?

We will explore together the vagaries of power and vulnerability, in hopes we can become more sensitized to the interplay of power and vulnerability in our supervisory relationships, and perhaps we can also become more graceful when these themes become disruptive forces in our work.